The didactic specificity of mathematics in relation to project-basedlearning in the New Mexican School

Abstract

The essay argues that the decontextualized application of project-based learning in the Nueva Escuela Mexicana (New Mexican School), in which students receive the project without a prior disciplinary sequence, with little teacher guidance, and without a closure that formalizes mathematical knowledge, puts at risk the epistemological and didactic specificity of school mathematics, given that its learning requires practice, sequencing of concepts, and explicit institutionalization, which the project format does not always guarantee or addresses superficially. The argument brings together didactic transposition, the theory of didactic situations, and mathematical knowledge for teaching; it contrasts the 2022 Curriculum with the materials used in its implementation and situates the problem in rural and Indigenous schools with data from recent assessments. The essay recognizes the value of project-based learning, but it questions the design that subordinates mathematical content to the project and leaves teachers without sequenced materials or specific training.